Chula Vista  Two Sweetwater Union High School District administrators resigned over the summer after district officials discovered $92,295 had been mismanaged, leaving activities such as drama and mariachi short on funds students had raised.

Castle Park High’s former principal, Diego Ochoa, and assistant principal, Abram Jimenez, stepped down in early August after district officials discovered $21,583 had been taken from nine clubs at the 1,500-student campus without their knowledge. Officials also found $72,712 in bills, as much as two years old, had not been paid for everything from football and cheerleader uniforms to yearbooks and Advanced Placement tests.

The problems are outlined in documents obtained by The Watchdog under the California Public Records Act. They show the school’s International Baccalaureate program suffered the greatest loss at $8,500, followed by the drama club, which had $6,000 taken from its account.

Ochoa declined to comment. He agreed to relay a message to Jimenez, who did not respond.

Records show Jimenez, who oversaw Associated Student Body funds, initiated transfers out of club accounts, indicating the purpose was “to correct posting” or “to closeout account.”

The club money was deposited into an account used to pay for other school expenses, including employee gifts, luncheons and parking costs, a $600 chain saw and a $130 football helmet for a local doctor, according to school records. Other expenses were caps and gowns and athletic equipment for students.

Castle Park’s mariachi club account had $417 in it when it was closed.

“I wasn’t aware that there were any funds,” said Fredd Sanchez, former Castle Park mariachi club adviser. Sanchez now works at Sweetwater High and National City Middle.

“It would be disappointing for any program to lose any funds that are taken or lost in some way because our programs need all the support they can get right now, given the current financial situation in our state,” he said.

Nicole Eddy, English teacher and adviser of the Gay-Straight Alliance club on campus, said the club was required to strictly account for all expenses. The account had $320 in it when it was closed.

“I had no idea. There was nothing to indicate to me that any of that was going on,” Eddy said. “Probably the most devastating thing about all of this is I have seen the students lose out a lot, and there is a sadness over our campus now.”

Some of the unpaid bills — including a $23,258 bill for yearbooks — should have been paid out of activity funds, while others — including a $21,615 bill for Advanced Placement tests — should have been paid out of the school site budget, officials said. The yearbook bill has since been paid by the school, according to Deputy Superintendent Dianne Russo.

The district will pay the remaining bills and replenish the club accounts, except for a $8,970 football bill, which the district will loan to the school. The school will have three years to repay the money in addition to a separate $10,000 loan provided in April because the school was low on cash, Russo said.

“The district is making sure that the trusts have the money they raised and that the ASB is in good shape to operate throughout the year, and we will work out a payment plan, because the last thing we want to do is hurt the kids,” Russo said.

Ochoa and Jimenez received 90 days of pay upon departure, in addition to vacation and sick leave pay.

The Watchdog reported in June that Ochoa had overseen more than 115 improper grade changes at the school following a credit recovery session during spring break, erasing D’s and F’s from student transcripts, against district policy. District officials said the initial grades have since been returned to transcripts.

Ochoa was up for a promotion to be executive director of middle schools under the former superintendent, Jesus Gandara, who was terminated in June after a series of administration problems were revealed by The Watchdog. The new superintendent, Ed Brand, demoted Ochoa to principal of Bonita Vista Middle before his resignation. Jimenez had recently become assistant principal of Bonita Vista High School.

The school’s annual district audit of its ASB accounts conducted earlier this year did not find the unpaid bills or club transfers, but did note school officials were improperly commingling facilities money with ASB money.

Castle Park’s ASB account had $58,000 in it at the end of the 2010 fiscal year. At present, the account balance is $26,000, district officials said.